Murali Vijay at Jamtha, India vs South Africa 3rd Test: Back to the beginning

Murali Vijay and VCA Stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur made their debuts together seven years back.

The year is 2008. India and Australia are in the middle of an intense four-match Test series in India. The hosts are 1-0 up in the series by winning the second Test at Mohali by a thumping margin of 320 runs. The third Test at Delhi ends in a draw, but it is not that the match is completely devoid of action. Gautam Gambhir, the India opener, gets a one-Test ban for being involved in an altercation with Shane Watson, and elbowing him in the process. It is a big blow for the team, as Gambhir hit a career-best 206 in the same match, and had also scored another ton and half-century in the series. LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs South Africa 2015, 3rd Test at Nagpur.

The team is left in a quandary. The fourth Test at Nagpur is a week away, and any small chink in the armour can lead to Australia’s comeback in the series. The hunt is on for Gambhir’s replacement. Possible contenders Aakash Chopra and Wasim Jaffer, who faced Australia just a month back in the tour match playing for Board President’s XI, have crossed the 30 year-mark in their lives. Picking either of them would be a regressive step and the selectors know that. A couple of days before the match, a certain Murali Vijay comes up with a timely 243 playing for Tamil Nadu against Maharashtra in Ranji Trophy, and solves the five-wise-men’s dilemma. They pick him and he debuts, knowing it is just a make-shift arrangement. Also Read: India vs South Africa 2015, 3rd Test at Nagpur: Likely XI for the hosts.

Interestingly, it is not Vijay alone who makes his debut. The New Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur — that replaced the old VCA Ground as the main stadium in the city — also marks its debut by hosting its first ever Test. Both the debutants do well as a dogged Vijay scores 33 and 41 in the match, adding 98 and 116 runs with Virender Sehwag in both innings. Jamtha produces a result, with India winning the Test as well as the series. Not a bad start at all for both beginners. Also Read: India vs South Africa 2015, 3rd Test at Nagpur: What should India’s bowling attack look like?

Fast forward to the present; almost exactly seven years have gone since that Vijay debut, and come November 25 life will come a full circle for the solid opener as he takes guard against another tough opponent at the same venue where he made his debut. In between he also played another game at this venue against South Africa in 2010, where India lost by an innings in the absence of its stalwarts Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. However, Vijay — who batted at No. 3 and scored 4 and 32 in the match — was once again a temporary arrangement then. Also Read: India vs South Africa 2015, 3rd Test at Nagpur: Key battles in Gandhi-Mandela Series 2015 clash.

How the times have changed since. In those days, he knew he was just a stop-gap player and will have to go back once the preferred players returned. After that debut in Nagpur, he played his next Test only a year later. He kept making sporadic appearances for the Test side; mostly when there were injury issues or breaks to senior players. He even played a handful of One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 (T20) international matches in the meanwhile, but it was Test cricket he was destined to achieve success in.

Today, he is undoubtedly India’s No. 1 opener in Test cricket, a fact he is truly relishing. Ever since Sehwag and Gambhir lost favour in 2013, Vijay has been India’s most dependable opener. In the 23 Tests since his comeback two years ago, Vijay has scored 1,961 runs from 40 innings at an impressive average of 50.28. This is much higher than his career average of 42.83. In this particular phase, he has scored five hundreds and 10 half-centuries and accumulated runs in all top countries and in the most testing of conditions. Also Read: Amit Mishra should be included in the third Test against South Africa at Nagpur.

And now after two successful years of international cricket behind him, the man is gearing up for another tryst with the ground where it all began. His team and his fans would want him to do what he knows best. But on a personal and a more emotional note, he would love to deliver at the ground where he scored his first run. The ground too is ready to host the player with whom its journey in international cricket began.

(A self-confessed cricket freak, Chinmay Jawalekar is a senior writer with CricLife and CricketCountry. When not writing or following cricket, he loves to read, eat and sleep. He can be followed here @CricfreakTweets)

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